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Day 12: Vientiane – Hanoi

Monks, Vientiane, Laos

This morning, Pati was awoken by the sound of chanting in the street below, and so he and BeeBee rushed out onto their balcony to see a line of 11 saffron-robed monks in front of the restaurant next door, the Three Sisters. When they finished their chant, they glided in a single line down the street toward the same street corner the monks stopped at yesterday. Less than a minute later, another line of 10 monks appeared, their bowls reflecting the street lights. They stopped at the same place as the first group, where a woman sat on a little plastic stool with her offerings. Again the chant was heard, and then this group also glided single-file down the street to join the rest of the monks at the street corner.

Morning tea

Since the guide and driver were not coming until 1 pm to pick them up, Pati and BeeBee took the time to pack carefully and catch up on the internet. The glare on their balcony was too much, so they went back down to the hotel breakfast room (where breakfast was still available) for tea, coffee, ambiance, and internet withour glare. The temperature at home is 24 to 36 degrees Fahrenheit today, while the temperature here is 22 degrees Celcius (about 72 degrees Fahrenheit).

The guide came a few minutes early, and so they left for Wattay airport for their flight to Hanoi. Their guide escorted them right to the airline check-in counter. They all exchanged goodbyes. (Thank you, Mr. Ton.)

The flight departed Vientiane on time and arrived at Noi Bai airport in Hanoi on time. The visa-on-arrival procedure was the same as the Laos procedure, but was executed much more efficiently. Their tour guide was waiting when they exited baggage claim. They arrived at their new hotel around 5 pm. hotel.

Since they had skipped lunch, they took a taxi to a restaurant in a sister hotel to theirs. Since it is Chinese New Year (Tet), most restaurants are closed today, including the one in their hotel. They had the vegetarian set menu, and it was good.

Taking another taxi back to their hotel, they were soon ready for sleep.